Thank goodness for the Bootleg Series; not only does it constantly present us with new ways of approaching our favorite Dylan songs and reveal his often fascinating creative process, it's also provided me with some of my very favorite Bob Dylan albums, which I return to again and again. This most recent installment rounds up unreleased, alternate, and live material from what can generally be called Dylan's "late" period--from 1989's

to his most recent studio album, 2006's

. When I first heard about this release, I was really excited. I've really enjoyed Dylan's more recent work; Oh Mercy is one of my favorite Dylan albums, and to me it really marks the beginning of his latest comeback in terms of quality, which has fortunately lasted until today. As always, Dylan's more prolific than the final studio releases would have you believe, and, as often happens, much of the material that ends up off the records is as good or better than the album cuts.

The collection opens with a stripped down acoustic take of "Mississippi," one of

most memorable tracks. It's a good choice as a lead-off--it's more buoyant and conversational than the official version, and sets the tone of intimacy and warmth that really permeates this entire collection. A lot of people can't stand Dylan's voice these days, but I really enjoy it--not only does it convey the sometimes world-weary tone of a lot of his later material, I think it's the perfect instrument for forcefully transmitting the tenderness and occasional anguish that also appears in his recent work (not to mention enhancing the live reinventions of his extensive back catalog). On many of the tracks here, his voice is also a tool for wringing dry humor and fun out of his ever-playful words. "Most of the Time" follows suit, sounding almost like a Blood On The Tracks outtake. "Dignity" is a priceless inclusion (we get two versions here with vastly different production)--after reading Dylan's extensive notes on this song in

, it's great to finally hear the song's stark and moving imagery.

Although these songs span nearly 20 years, it's remarkable how well they sit alongside each other--the compilation isn't sequenced chronologically, and it's all the stronger for it: in many ways, it plays like a brand new double album. Sure, the moody, murky Daniel Lanois production from Oh Mercy and

is noticeable, but the spirit and vibe of many of the songs is cohesive throughout. It seems that many of the best songs on this set simply weren't included in their original albums because they just didn't fit with the rest of the songs or mood--"Red River Shore" is a bit too playful for Time Out of Mind, while the driving "Dreamin' of You" was probably too fast for the album's languid pace.

This collection highlights a number of Dylan's other strengths, including slow blues--"Marchin' to the City" and the second version of "Mississippi" are weighty examples of his inimitable skill with preventing slow blues from being boring. It also shows that Dylan is still sometimes best experienced live--"High Water" (probably my favorite Love and Theft track) from 2003 rocks almost crushingly, and "Ring Them Bells" is achingly poignant, supplemented by the sounds of an appreciative audience. In addition, this set reminds us of Dylan's power as an interpretive singer--"32-20 Blues," "Miss the Mississippi" and "The Girl on the Greenbriar Shore" communicate this with humanity, and also act as a nagging reminder that he put out two excellent folk standard albums in the mid-90's (

and

), which are still largely neglected. Finally, tracks like the moving "'Cross the Green Mountain" demonstrate that Dylan the songwriter STILL unquestionably has something big to say.

I could wax poetic about each and every one of these songs, but it's a long album and this review is already long enough! I'll only mention that, like all of the other Bootleg releases, this one has excellent photos (charting the rarely-seen late 80's Dylan and into his more recent Col. Sanders cowboy outfit days) and exhaustive prose liner notes, as well as track-by-track notation. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the "Deluxe" edition, since I don't have $100 to spend on one more disc of material (not much of a value, by the looks of things), though it would be nice to hear more of the same. Whereas the

installment sometimes begged the question "Haven't I pretty much heard all of these songs before?", this installment ties together unheard material with very fresh-sounding versions of more familiar tunes, making it a more necessary addition to a collection. If nothing else, this set is a resounding reminder that, as he turns his songwriting eyes on his cavernous past and to the strange and uncharted present and future, Dylan is producing some of the strongest material of his career.

This set was a very nice play to my surprise. It's a combination of early takes, developed takes, soundtrack one-offs, and live performances all of which date from March 1989 or later. The 1989 takes are particularly fine and make me wonder at the sheer cussedness of an artist who leaves songs like "Series of Dreams" and "Dignity" in an unfinished condition, and then puts out a 39-minute compact disc like "Oh Mercy." On quite a few of these songs Dylan even sings with his old "unruined" voice and it would seem that the Howlin' Wolf growl was something he chose to strain toward (perhaps there's no choice anymore). The "Time out of Mind" sessions are well represented with a couple interesting takes of "Mississippi" and a fabulous bloozy alternate version of "Can't Wait." With Dylan the lyric is the (nearly) fixed part of the song, while melody and arrangement are almost infinitely flexible.

The live "High Water" features a great turbulent rhythm from drummer George Recile and fine guitar interplay from Larry Campbell and Freddy Koella. "The Girl from the Greenbriar Shore" is Dylan solo from 1992 and I don't believe he's sung without accompaniment much since then. And there's a duet with Ralph Stanley where Stanley almost sounds more Dylanesque than Dylan. Or makes clear how much of Dylan's singing style was borrowed from bluegrass singers in any case.

Listening to Bob Dylan's new release Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series #8, I am reminded of a classic quote often attributed to Dennis Miller regarding Axl Rose... "What the hell does someone have to do to get thrown out of Guns `N Roses?" Put within the Dylan frame, "How the hell did any one of these songs miss the original release of his last four studio cd's?"

Far from the usual half-baked throwaways that clog the arteries of most alternative cut "retrospectives" Tell Tale Signs is anything but, containing fully-realized music that if not for the "Bootleg" banner would be considered a double cd of staggering beauty - easily cracking the top ten (or top five) of his prolific original catalog.

Whether in studio or in concert, Dylan's songs are never really finished. Their role has always been one of artistic baseline, original renderings that have spawned thousands of permutations of lyric and arrangement answerable only to his mood or circumstance on any given day. The deleted work from Time Out Of Mind and Oh Mercy (Dreamin' Of You, God Knows and Series Of Dreams among others) is ample illustration of just how deep his reservoir of material really is. The release itself is extraordinarily well done - the sound is brilliant and the expansive liner notes by Dylan acolyte Ratso Sloman brings real texture to the proceedings.

Almost fifty years in Dylan has mastered his role as changeling to perfection and honestly, that's what makes his enormous body of work so damn interesting - sobering when you consider that the seventeen-year "period" represented by Bootleg #8 would encompass four and a half careers given the popular half-lives of most contemporary artists.

As anyone who has followed Dylan live or on disc can attest, he is quite capable of "mailing it in" (and has done so frequently) so the fact that this is a stunner right out the box makes it all the more enjoyable. Jump in.

yes..the price is a disgrace..what on earth sony are thinking is mind boggling..what is worse is there is a single disc version just to confuse everyone...why on earth sony didnt release this 3 disc version as the only version and retail it for 40 to 60 dollars is pathetic..HOWEVER,im sure its just as silly to give it a one star reveiw just because of the price..and have those who have canned this actually heard and seen it?? because the third disc is definetley 4 or 5 star...Marching to the city..why was this left of any album???, its a shuffling sleazy boogie number that should be heard and and and man the version of 'trying to get to heaven" is AWESOME..BEAUTIFUL..SENSATIONAL...as is the rest of the disc..and the lavish books have beautiful thick covers and lovely quality paper and printing...so please folks lets not let the price distract you as this is a truly awseome release..the packaging is beautiful and the music..well..its just wonderful..mississsipi..someday baby.an awesome slow haunting,much diferent CANT WAIT.and one of bobs greatest ever songs cross the green mountain...essential....

Bob Dylan's "Tell Tale Signs" - The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 is an impressive package, the music, as others reviewers have noted, flows together wonderfully with brilliant sound quality, and Dylan's choice to have Larry "Ratso" Sloman (the author of the excellent "On The Road with Bob Dylan" which chronicled the Rolling Thunder Tour) write the liner notes, song analysis and history, was a wise move as Sloman brings it all back home. Dylan has lived more musical lifetimes than any major artist I've ever known. The notion that he was born again certainly applies to more than just his spiritual beliefs, Dylan has taken the notion of being prolific to new levels, and these cds document the high standards of the material Dylan has been working with in the late 80's, 90's, and on into the 21st century. Some purist still cling to the idea that Dylan never wrote as well after his socially reflective songs during the 1960s. Dylan addresses this issue head on in his "Chronicles" book when he points out that during the "Oh Mercy" sessions, producer Daniel Lanois implored him to write more anthem like 60's songs. But Bob was true to his art, and realized that what he needed was not to mimic his past music, rather he reached deep into where he was at in the present time: and the next night he wrote "Shooting Star," which blew Lanois away when he recognized the sheer beauty of the song.

Dylan has moved with the pace of a poet and musician who is evolving and continually creating new forms of expression. Yes, Born Again, and I can't wait for the next time Bob's muse inspires him to do it all over again in whatever style that feels right. A long time ago Bob's film "Don't Look Back" provided us with a forecast for Dylan's future, he has never looked back. Spend some time with "Tell Tale Signs," listen, read, and appreciate that Bob Dylan was the right artist for our times. He's proven it time and time again.